TRP: Kelpie and Sugar (Swim)
Izzy: The pirate ship Rusalka, several hours into the voyage after leaving the Sanctuary of Eldath. Kelpie had finished getting her crew in line, making sure everything was in order for the long trip north, and with her duties done, she set her sights on her sister. Nixie had tried to find a place among the crew's work, but given up on it rather quickly and retreated to an isolated area of the main deck. They were on their way now. Nothing left to do. She double-checked to be sure, then kipped down to her quarters for a moment to grab a bag before returning to the deck. She realized that Nixie wasn't happy about this, but there was nothing she could do about it. She stopped in front of her sister, looking down at her impassively. "Hey." Then she hesitated. "So what was up with those jackasses on the beach? Who were they?" Coyote: ''' Nixie folded her arms across her chest. The sea spray hit her in this spot, but— it made her feel better, oddly. Her fingers dug into her arm. She should’ve gone with Goro. Anywhere else. “Why?” she said sharply. What would Mishka do? He’d be charming, and get on her good side, and gather information, and accomplish what he set out to accomplish... then get home as fast as possible. '''Izzy: Kelpie shrugged. She was defensive. Fine. "Seemed like they gave a shit. Especially that half elf." She paused. "He wasn't too hard on the eyes." Coyote: ''' “Mm.” Nixie bristled, but didn’t say anything. Goro was hers... and the Guild’s... and Mishka’s, maybe... and he belonged to the rest of the team, too. She sat down. “I went to... Mikhail. To— Mishka. He asked me to spy on some people for him. That’s... that’s all.” '''Izzy: Kelpie tilted her head. "Yeah. We heard Mishka was taking care of you." Their mother had been vaguely disappointed about it. Seemed to think Mishka was coddling her. "He fuckin' wasn't today, though, huh." Coyote: ''' “No, because I’m a fucking adult and he knows I can handle talking to my mother.” '''Izzy: Kelpie snorted and grinned. "Good. Seems like you can handle a fuckin' giant octopus, now, too." She shifted, putting her back against the wall. "Sorcery thing's goin' pretty well, then." Coyote: ''' “Mishka is a good teacher,” Nixie said flatly. “And I’m a good student. I’ve been writing everything...” Everything in her book. Her— her book. Oh god. Oh no. She’d— she’d left her book behind. And Nixie... Nixie said she was coming back, she’d said it was fine and she’d take care of it and return, but— that had been a lie, because Nixie still wasn’t sure what her mother wanted her for. Maybe she wouldn’t be back. Maybe... Maybe she’d never see it again. And she hasn’t even known she was going— and she’d only gotten ten minutes to say she was leaving— And— she would never see them again... her book. She would never see her book again. '''Izzy: "Hm." Kelpie glanced down at her again, frowning. She was no good at this small talk shit. "Listen, Nixie, I know the answer's probably no, but Mom ain't gonna ask this, so I am. Have you seen Selkie? She left. Not long after you did. None of Mom's contacts can get an eye on her." Coyote: ''' Nixie’s hand bunched in her dress. “Selkie? No. Why— why did she leave? What’s wrong?” '''Izzy: "Don't know. Just fucked off without saying anything. Mom's not talking about it, but -- no one tells me shit anyway." Again, she paused, and chewed on her lip for a second. "Why did you leave?" She hadn't been there. Since she'd left the Banshee and become captain of the Rusalka a couple years back, she'd stopped knowing things about her little sisters. Just come aboard one morning for a family breakfast and neither of them had been there. Awkward having toast alone with her mom, that day. Coyote: ''' Nixie looked up in surprise, then away. Her mother has tossed her out with no ceremony. Simply told her one day that she was done. Nixie remembered sitting in port by herself. Seventeen years old. She’d been angry about it, and so lost. She remembered sitting in the shade of a merchant’s stall and... not knowing where to sleep that night, not knowing... how she’d have money to buy food, and... It had felt good, in a way. She’d had a problem to solve. She had been alone. For the first time and her life, she didn’t have to worry about what any person thought of her. She could do whatever she wanted. And she’d had nothing. She’d assumed Kelpie knew. She’d waited all night in port for Kelpie to come check on her. To find her. Kelpie, she’d thought, would help her find somewhere to go— she was practical like that, and wouldn’t have just abandoned her. She didn’t realize Kelpie hadn’t known. “I didn’t... leave,” Nixie said quietly. “Mom... threw me out, Kel. I thought you knew.” Angrily, she tried to hide the hurt in her voice. Kelpie wouldn’t care. '''Izzy: "Oh." Kelpie stared out over the ship's railing, squinting at the ocean. After a moment, she slipped a knife out of her belt and started idly cleaning her nails without looking. Something to do with her hands while she processed this. It took some time. Then, abruptly, she sheathed the knife and sat down heavily next to her sister. "I didn't know. She just said you left. I asked if ..." She recontextualized her mother's words that morning. Nothing that had strictly been a lie. Only strategic withholding of information. "She said you'd figure it out yourself." When they'd been young, they'd all been taught to swim by being tossed overboard, into the sea. Kelpie and Selkie -- they'd done fine. When Nixie's turn had come, she'd floundered. Their mother had come this close to letting her drown out there before turning away with a disgusted look and telling Kelpie to go get her. At least this time, Nixie had learned to swim. "I didn't know," Kelpie said again, meaning to say I would've helped you, but that didn't matter now. "But you made it on your own. I guess that's what she wanted." Coyote: ''' Nixie hadn’t, even, though. She’d gone to Mishka. She hadn’t eaten anything, because she had no money. She talked to people until she found out where he lived, which had taken a few days. Showed up on his doorstep in the middle of the night, in the rain, looking like a drowned rat. Maybe that counted, though. She’d taken help when she needed it, and given help when Mishka needed it. Maybe that’s how it was supposed to be. Being on a team. “Do you think she threw Selkie out?” Nixie asked quietly. '''Izzy: "Dunno." She slowly pulled her knife back out and went back to cleaning her nails thoughtfully. Selkie was supposed to become her first mate on the Rusalka, soon, and she'd taken that as an insult. Wanted to captain her own ship instead. "Selkie does what she wants, y'know. Might've just fucked off." But then, she'd talked herself into thinking that Nixie would do that, too. She was also a lot more fucking sure that Selkie could take care of herself than she'd thought Nixie could. "I'm sure she's fine. Just hoped she might've got in touch with you or something." She tucked the knife away again, and turned to face Nixie, scrutinize her face. "Hey. We heard about this fuckin' plague in Skyport. S'what Mom wants you for, I think -- she doesn't tell me shit but she's real fucking interested in it. Not ... worried. You know what she's like." No reason to give her false hope. "But you made it through okay, right? And Mishka did?" Coyote: ''' “I did.” She didn’t answer for Mishka. Something was wrong with him— and she had noticed, but pretended not to, because she could tell he was trying to hide it. '''Izzy: Kelpie narrowed her eyes. Strategic withholding of information. That was fine. "Good. Mom's dock contacts -- they lost track of you, for a while there. We thought you might've gotten hurt." Well, she had, anyway. She didn't know what her mother had thought. Coyote: ''' “Okay.” She thought about asking when they would come back to Skyport, but that was useless. Kelpie would not know. Instead, she looked at Kelpie. She wished she had better clothes; all she had were the shorts and stiff top she’d gone swimming in. Still no shoes. “Have you been... okay?” Nixie asked quietly. “Alone. With mom.” Kelpie seemed to be the favored kid, out of the three of them. Kel always had a spine of steel, and she looked after her younger siblings when she was able. Always the strongest. And the smartest. But Nixie hated the idea of Kelpie being alone. '''Izzy: She said, "Yeah, of course," without thinking about it. "Y'know." She patted the deck. "Got my own ship. Don't even see her that much." Kelpie liked it that way. Had the impression her mother did, too. They were finally all out from under her feet, one way or another. At some point Kelpie had assumed that all three of them would end up on the Rusalka, and they'd be back together, at least. Captain, first mate, boatswain maybe. She'd never been sure how exactly Nixie would figure in when she tended to be useless at sailing. But she'd assumed they would all be there, somewhere removed from their mother and with each other. Then -- she didn't know. She'd expected that would mean something, she guessed. Hm. "So ... you ever learn how to swim?" Coyote: ''' “No, but I learned how to breathe underwater.” '''Izzy: "Huh. Seems useful." Creative problem solver, wasn't she. Kelpie remembered the bag over her shoulder suddenly and shifted to hold it out to Nixie. "Oh. Mom was going to throw out your things. I grabbed some of them." Hadn't really known why she was doing it, at the time, assuming that if Nixie had left things behind it had been because she didn't want them. "Clothes, jewelry. There's a coat in there. You're gonna need it -- you know it's cold where we're going." She hesitated. "Sorry I didn't give you time to pack some shit. I figured, y'know, if you ran off one time, you'd do it again." She'd thought for a moment about grabbing that half-elf, holding onto him as collateral to make sure Nixie came back. Just people she was spying on for Mishka. Sure. Coyote: ''' “Okay.” God, she should have run off with Goro. She thought about it wistfully. She would’ve missed Roddy, though, and Hansel, and Mishka. Maybe they could’ve come with. “I missed you,” she said quietly, looking askance. She’d thought about writing. Just hadn’t thought Kelpie gave a shit. '''Izzy: Kelpie grimaced at the emotion. "Yeah. I fuckin' missed you too, lil sis." Coyote: ''' “Sure,” she muttered, still looking away. Kelpie always acted like saying those things was an inconvenience. She missed Mishka. Selfishly, she realized she... missed the fine clothes, and the needless gifts, and the over-excessive affection. The weird pet names. It was so... different. She missed Goro. All she’d done was show him the slightest affection and he’d treated her like a goddess. She grabbed the bag and headed inside to change. '''Izzy: Kelpie watched her go. Probably should've said something different. Part of her wanted to grab Nixie in a hug, or kiss the top of her head, between her horns, like she had when Nixie was little. But they weren't children anymore. She was a goddamn pirate captain, and Nixie was ... something else. She stood to head for the helm and let Nixie go her own way. END Category:Text Roleplay